Press



G. E. BRITTAIN.

PRESS.

APPLICATION man APR-24, 1918.

1,366,515. Patented Jan. 25,1921.

'2 SHEETS-SHEET l- Gil-3. BRITTAIN.

PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 24, I9I8. 1,366,515, Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

2 SHEETS- SHEET 2- I M I UNITED STA S PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. BRITTAIN, 0F HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO IRVING I4.

KEITH, 0F HAVEBHILL, MASSACHUSETTS.

IRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

Application filed April 24, 1918. Serial No. 230,578.

a citizen oi"- the United States, and a re'si dent of Haverhill, county of Essex, and State of lllassachusetts, have invented an improvement in Presses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in sole presses and more particularly to improvements on the type of press disclosed in my pending. application, Serial lilo. 163,407, in which a main operative lever, for forcing the press members together,

.is pivotally supported on clips, which are slidably mounted on standards provided with cam-levers for locking them in any poition on the standards, so that the top member of the press may be held in any desired position, according to the height of the stacks to be pressed, from which positionit may be forced by the operating lever.

While said prior device is advantageous the extent described, it cannot be operated with the facility desired, particularly for pressing together stacks of cemented soles of various heights inshoe factories.

It will be apparent that the extent to which the top press-membermay he forced down afterit has been brought into positive engagement with the top of the stack, depends on various factors, principally the height of the stack, the higher the stacks the greater the extent which the stack may be compressed, and the greater the dis tance which the press-member may, and usually must, he forced down to secure satisfactory adhesion.

As, in a lever forcing mechanism of the cam type, employed in said prior apparatus, or of the toggle type, hereinafter de scribed, the greatest mechanical advantage 7 is secured at the points nearest the position to which the press-member is forced at the end of the operative movement of the lever, 6., in the case of a toggle, at; the point where the toggle is'straightened, it is desirable, in order that the necessary pressure may be easily secured, to lock the support on which the lever is pivoted to the standards, in such a position that the necessary pressure will be secured at this point, and while this point will be practically the same, where the stacks are of uniform heights and solidity, in the average shoe factory, the latter conditions vary very widely.

It is, consequently, desirable, in order that thepress may be operated with the greatest facility, and to the best advantage, that the locking of the operating lever to the standards be automatically performed at a certain point with relation to the height of the stack, for some conditions, but that the point of locking may be under the direct and ready control of theoperator, to meet other conditions. For the same reasons, ready adjustment of such automatic lockmg means to different conditions, andof the upper press-member to different elevations, to permit the ready insertion and removal of the work, is desirable.

The objects of my invention are to provide press, of the type above referred to, In which the means provided for locking the operating lever. supporting means to the press standards may be both automatically and manually controlled, and may be read lly adjusted for diilerentvconditions and requirement: and to provide means whereby themovable pressing member, together with its lever operating and locking mechanism, may be readily raisedand'lowered and sustained in any desired position, to

permitthe work to be placed in position and to be removed with facility, and the member to be readily moved into and out of clamping position with relation to stacks of soles of varying heights.

I accomplish these objects by the means shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a press embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken at line .c-m of Fig. 5;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the parts in'a different position;

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view at line z g ofFig. 2; i

Fig. 6 is a similar view at line Z/.Z of Fig. 4.

As shown in the drawing, the press comprises a base 2, in which a pair of vertically disposed standards, or supports, 4, are mounted, said standards being preferably square in cross section to provide flat engaging and guiding surfaces. The upper ends of said standards, are rigidly connected by a cross-bar 6 in the ends of which horizontally projecting ears are provided in which idle pulleys 8 are mounted for purposes to be described.

A pair of clips 10 are mounted to slide, one on each standard 4, and are rigidly connected by a pivot rod 12, on which a sleeve 14 is rotatably mounted, said sleeve being provided with two pairs of projecting ears or arms 15, to each pair of which, one end of a link 16 is connected by a pivot 17, said pivots 17 being in alinement. The upper member, 18, of the press is slidably mounted at each end on the standards 4, beneath the sleeve 14, and the links 16 are pivotally connected at their lower ends to the upper side of said member, by pivots 19, in such positions that the axes of their pivotal connec tions are in alinement and are movable in the vertical plane in which the axis of the sleeve 14 lies. Said sleeve is provided with a socket in which an operating handle 20 is mounted, in a position approximately at right angles to the arms 15, so that, together, they form a bell-crank lever. An upright post 22 is mounted on the member 18 and so arranged that the handle 20'will be swung into engagementwith its upper when the center line of the pivots 17 have been swung past the vertical plane of the axis of the sleeve 14, as the handle 20 is swung clownward.

The clips 10 are open at their rear sides to provide projecting ear portions and cam levers 24 having cylindrically shaped heads are disposed between, and pivoted to said ears, eccentrically t0 the surfaces of said heads, in such relation to the rear sidesot the standards that the surfaces of the heads ofsaid levers may be forced into locking engagement therewith, with increasing force, as the handle portions of the levers are swung upwardly. A stiii bar 26 is rigidly connected to the handle of each lever 24, so

, that the latter are caused to swing in unison,

and arms 28 are mounted on the sleeve14 in position to engage the upper side of said bar 26. said arms being arranged to be swung to different positions about the sleeve and to be locked in the difi'erent positions to which they maybe adjusted by set screws 30. Brackets 32 are secured on the front sides of the clips 10, and flat springs 84 are screwed at their front ends in pins 36 rotatably mounted in said brackets, and extend rearwardly in position to engage the under sides of the bar 26, which is extended beyond the levers. 24 at each side to perm-it such engagement. A lug 38 is formed on the outer side of each bracket 32, in each of which a vertically disposed screw 40 is located, in posltlon to engage the under sides of the cormit tension to be applied to said springs to the extent desired.

Brackets 42 are secured to the top member 18, and project beyond the outer sides of the standards 4, and chains 44 are connected thereto and passed up over the idle pulleys 8, and downwardly, counterweights 46 being connected to their ends, the combined weight of which is approximately equal to the weight of the member 18,sleeve 14 and parts connected thereto, so that they will support all of these parts in any position to which they may be adjusted on the standards, thereby enabling them to be easily raised or lowered. v

lnpractice the screws 40 are adjusted to hold the springs 34 in such a position that they will force the levers 24,3vhen permitted to do so, into locking engagement with the standards 4, and the arms 28 are so adjusted on the sleeve 14 that, when the operating lever or handle 20 is in its extreme raised or initial position, (see Fig. 2), so that it engages the crossbar 6, they will force down ing on the arms 15, cause the sleeve 14 to be rotated until the handle 20 is swungagainst cross-bar 6, the j sustaining action of the counter-weightson' the sleeve 14 and imm diately associated parts, thus acting through the links 16. This action-considerably oven balances the tensionof the springs 34, .so

that, when the handle 20 is released, when in an intermediate position, it will be immeciately swung up against the bar 6, and during the latter portion of this movement the arms 28 will press down the cam levers 24 until they are disengaged from the standards in operating'the device the parts are meved to the initial position, shown in full lines in Fig, 2, and the top member and connected parts are raised to .a suiiicient height to permit the stack of soles, or other work to be pressed, to be placed or piled on the base. lVhen it is desired to apply pressure to the stack, the sleeve 14 is pushed down until the member 18 engages the top or" the stack. Assuming that the parts, particularly the arms 28 and tension of' springs 34, have if been adjusted for a. stack which may be compressed to a predetermined extent, for example,.a certain. number of pairs or" soles of a certain weight and quality, it is then merely necessary for the operator to pull down the 20, during this movement, the arms 28 will be lifted until they become disengaged from the bar 26, thereby permitting the springs 34 to lift said bar and swing the cam-levers 24 upwardlyso as to force their heads into frictional engagement with the surfaces of the. standards 4. As downward movement of the member 18 will be resisted by the stack, the reaction will tend to raise the'clips 10, but as'soon as the cam-levers are frictionally engaged with the standardaeither such upward movement will be prevented by the frictional engagement of the cam-levers, or if such movement occurs, the force of their frictional engagement will be increased by such movement until the clips are firmly locked to thesta-ndards. This will occur as soon as the downward movement of the member 18 is-resisted to a substantial extent, so thatthe latter will be forced down until the maximum pressure, forthis adjustment, will be applied. The stop post 22 is arranged so that the lever arm QO-may be swung downward to a point-at which the center of pivot 17 is carried slightly beyond the line of centers of thetog'gle, as shown-in Fig. 4, so that the ,press member will be locked in this position, as the expansive force of the work will tend to break the toggle in the opposite direction, which action is prevented by the stop post 22. L

If the press is used in connecton withthe clamping straps shown in my prior patent, No. 1,250,550, the operator may then force the cam-levers-ofithe device'of said patent, into such strong frictionalengagement with the opposite strap member, that when the pressure is -removed :from the stack by the press, practically all-of the compression will be retained by the straps.

l/Yhen it is desired to remove theus'tack from the press, the lever 20 is merely lifted sufiiciently to breakout the toggle, andthen the action of the coimter-weights 46, will cause-the parts to be returned to the initial position of Fig. 2, as already explained. This action will lift the member 18- to asu-fcient extent to permittherea'dy removalof the stackand the insertion of another of th same height. v

It will be apparent that, in order that the press may .beoperated so that the necessary compression is secured at the instant the toggle is straio'litenechthe locking of the operating lever fulcrum to the standards must he ate certain point for a certain .xtent of compression, and it follows hat the greater the extent of compression the sooner the fulcrum must be locked during the downward movement of the operating lever, and vice versa. The point which the pivotal support of .the

pushin down on the bar 26 the time o operating lever .20 becomes automatically locked to the standards, during the {iOC-Fllard movement of this lever, depends, primarily, on the position in which the arms 28 are adjusted, although the amount oi? tension on the springs 23% affect the extent to which the pivotal support may yield after the cam-levers are engaged, which is negligible. Consequently, to delay the time of locking, the arms v28 will be adjusted so that their ends which engage the bar 26, will be carried down to a low r point when the operating lever is raised to starting position, and therefore becomes disengaged from the bar at a later time during the operative movement of the lever arm 20, and to at vance the time of locking, the opposite adjustments will be mad In many shoe factories, however, the number of soles, in

successively compressed stacks, vary considerably, so that thereis frequent variation of thepossibleextent of compression, and in such cases it is useless to attempt to adjust the device for automatic locking, as above described, and it is merely desirable to have the adjustments such that the locking will. be

automatically performed at tie desired point for a stack of maximum height. In pressmg a stack of less compressibility, so

the bar 26 to ermit the s rin s to cause the cams-levers to engage, or he may pull upwardly oil-the bar to assist the springs in causing .en agement. In other words, by J3 locking may be delayed as much as desired, andby pulhn up on the bar the cam levers may be immediately thrown into locking engagement, saidcam-levers thus being run der the immediate control of the operator under all conditions where desirable necessary.

By this means also, a stack of soles may be conveniently recompressed, to increase the extent of compression which can be applied at the first compression, by merely reloching. the lever support at a lower point and repeating the operation.

With the above described COILSJIUCtlOIl the compression which may be secured by hand is practically liinited by the strength of the machine, and the press may a-lso be operated with the utmost, facility, n operating on stacks of soles of successively varying heights, on account of the ease and rapidity with which the movable member may be adjusted and locked to correspond to these conditions.

1. A press comprising a base having a pair of standards, a support slidably mounted on said standards, a pressing member, manually controlled mechanism between said support and member adapted and arranged to force the latter toward said base, frictional locking devices movable to lock said support to said'standards at different points, means independent of said manually controlled mechanism normally actuated to force each locking device into locking engagement with its, corresponding standard, and means manually movableto disengage said locking devices from said standard.

2. A press comprising a base having a pair of standards, a support slidably mounted on said standards, a pressing member, lever mechanism connecting said support and member and arranged to be operated to force said member towardsaid base, a pair of cam levers mounted on said support and arranged to be forced into frictional engagement with said standards to lock said support against upward movement thereon and connections between said cam levers inclependent of said lever mechanism arranged to permit simultaneous manual control thereof.

8. A press comprising a base having a pair of standards, a support slidably mounted on said standards and extending therebetween, an operating lever pivoted on said support, a pressing member having a toggle connection with said lever and arranged to be straightened upon downward swinging movement of the latter, a pair of frictional locking devices on said support arranged to be engaged with said standards, respectively, 'to'lock said support against upward movementthereon, connections between said locking devicesarranged to be manually oper-- ated independently. of said operating lever simultaneously to move said locking devices into and out of locking engagement avith said standards and means arranged to be actuated by said operating lever when raised to its initial position to move said locking devices to unlock said support from said standards. e

4:. A press comprising a base having a pair of standards, a support slidably mounted on said standards, a pressing member, an operating lever arranged to engage sald support and said pressing mem'berto force them apart when moved from an initial position,

frictional locking devices carried by said support and varranged to engage said standards to lock the support against upward movement thereon, yieldable means arranged to force said devices into locking engagement with said standards, and manually controlled means for moving said devices simultaneously in opposition to said yieldable means.

5. A press comprising a base having a pair of standards, a support slidably mounted on said standards, an operatinglever pivoted on said support, a pressing member, mechanism arranged to be actuated by said lever when swung downwardly from an initial position to force said member towardsaid base, frictional locking devices on said support, means normally actuated to force said devices into engagementwith said standards to lock said support against upward movement thereon, and means arranged to be actuated by said operating lever when swung into its said initial position to force said locking devices out of locking engagement with said standards.

6. A press comprising a base having a pair of standards, a support slidably mounted on said'standards, an operating lever pivotally mounted on said support, a pressing member, means arranged to be operated by said lever when swung from its initial position.

to force said member downwardly, frictional locking devices on said support, means normally actuated to force said devices into engagement with said standards, to lock said support in different position thereon,- and means carried by said operating lever arranged to engage said frictional devices to move them out ofengagement with said standards as the lever is moved toward its initial position, saidfmeans being adjustable to vary its position of engagement with said frictional devices, to vary the time of engagement thereof with said standards during the operative movement of said lever. 7. A press comprising a base having a pair of standards, a support slidably mounted on said standards, an operating lever pivotally mounted on said support, a pressing member, and means arranged to beoperated by said lever when swung from its initial position to forcesaid member downwardly, cam levers pivoted on said support and-arranged to be frictionally engaged with said standards, to 1001: said support against upward movement thereon and a bar extending between said levers to cause corresponding simultaneous swinging movement thereof.

8. A press comprising a base having a pair of standards, va support slidably mounted on said standards, a pressing member, an operating lever pivoted on said support and having means arranged to force said member downwardly when swung from an initial position, frictional locking devices normally actuated to lock said suption as the lever is returned to its initial position.

9. A press comprising a base having a pair of standards, a support slidably mounted on said standards, a pressing member, an operating lever pivoted on said support and having means arranged to force said member downwardly, a pair of cam levers pivoted on said support and rigidly connected to cause simultaneous and corresponding operation thereof, said cam levers being arranged and normally spring actuated to be swung in a direction frictionally to engage said standards, to lock said support against upward movement, engaging means carried by said operating lever and arranged to force said cam levers to an inoperative position as the operating lever is moved to its initial position and actuating means for said operating lever adapted to return the same to its initial position. when released and to overbalance the actuating means of said cam levers and hold the latter in their inoperative positions.

10. A press comprising a base having a pair of standards, a supportslidably mounted on said standards, a bell-crank lever pivoted on said support between said standards, a pressing member disposed beneath the pivot of said lever, a link pivoted at its lower end to said member and. at its upper end to one arm of said lever, to cause.

said friction devices out of locking engagement with said standards.

11. A press comprising a base having a pair of standards, a support slidably mounted on said standards at its ends, a pressing member disposed directly beneath said support and guided in its vertical movement by said standards, a bell-crank lever pivoted on said support between said standards and comprising a long and a short arm, a rigid link connecting said short arm and said pressing member to form a toggle connection between said support and said member arranged to be straightened as said long arm is swung down from an initial position, a counterbalance attached to said pressing member and adapted to sustain said support and parts connected thereto, friction devices on said support arranged to engage said standards and to lock said support against upward movement thereon, springs on said support normally acting to force said friction devices into locking engagen'ient with said standards, and an arm connected to said lever arranged to force said friction devices out of locking engagement with said stand ards as the lever is swung into its initial po sition.

12. A press comprising a stationary member having a pair of standards disposed in parallelism and a movable member, a sup port slidable on said standards and having actuating mechanism for forcing said movable member toward the stationary member, frictional devices for locking said support to said standards in different positions, and means, independent of said actuating mechanism, arranged to be manually oper ated positively in opposite directions to force said frictional devices into or out of locking engagement with said standards.

l3. A press comprising a base having a pair of standards, a pressing member, a support slidably mounted on said standards and extending therebetween, an operating lever mounted on said support and movable from an initial position to force said pressing member toward said base, frictional locking devices on said support normally actuated to engage said standards to loci: said support against movement from said base and means controlled by said lever arranged to move said locking devices out of locking engagement with the standards as the lever is moved into its said initial position and to release said locking devices to permit them to be actuated into locking engagement, when the lever is moved from said initial position to actuate said pressing member.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

GEORGE E. BRITTAIN.

Cir 

